I-TEAM: Richmond officials say city was ‘impeded’ trying to clean facility prior to fire

RICHMOND, Ind. — The I-Team pressed the city of Richmond on Thursday for answers about its years-long fight over what it called an unsafe property.

The plastics facility on NW F Street has been burning since Tuesday afternoon. Residents and people who work nearby told us it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

“I’ve been working for this company for about 10 and a half years and I just watch it get packed more and more with trash,” Brittany Lutz of Richmond said.

>> PHOTOS: Large-scale fire continues to send plumes of black smoke into air in Richmond

Lutz, who works down the block from the fire scene at Low Bob’s Discount Tobacco, told the I-Team’s John Bedell that it was “just a matter of time” before something like this happened.

“I’m sure we’ve addressed this with mayors and city councils. They say they’re going to take care of it and they just never do, so it kind of feels like your voice ain’t heard,” Lutz said.

The I-Team obtained documents that show since 2019, the city of Richmond has sent the property owner letters from the city attorney, issued unsafe building and clean-up orders, won a court case when the property owner appealed and even purchased two-thirds of the property at a tax sale in 2021.

The I-Team asked Mayor Dave Snow if the city cleaned the part of the property it bought.

“The city attempted to initiate that clean up and we were impeded in that process,” Snow said before deferring to city’s attorney.

>> Richmond Toxic Fire: Firefighters have 90% of fire out at plastic facility

Bedell asked city attorney A.J. Sickmann why the city didn’t “go in and shut” the facility down if there was such a safety concern.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. That the city did. It prevented them from continuing to operate in his normal capacity. The only operation was removing these things to abate the fire hazards,” Sickmann said. “And then once it was in a state where the city could come in and actually begin the removal process itself, that was the plan that, again, the fire event of this week interrupted this.”

They city’s lawyer was asked if he has been in touch with the property owner.

Sickmann said he has not because the focus remains on the putting out the fire. The I-Team reached out to the lawyer for the property owner listed on court records and he told us “no comment.”

When asked what the city is doing to help residents return to their homes, Snow said they are trying to assess when the fire department can get the fire and smoke down enough, as well as any airborne debris, so that the city can work with the EPA and other health agencies to lift the evacuation notice and help residents get back home.

Snow also said the health department is working on putting together cleaning kits for when people are allowed to return to their homes.

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